Marketing To Customers Has To Be Straight Forward To Gain Trust

May 5th, 2011 by admin No comments »


Marketing To Customers Has To Be Straight Forward To Gain Trust

The digital age has changed the way we do business. People live on email, social networks, and Starbuck’s coffee. Our mornings begin and end with the Internet. But something interesting is taking place. I wonder if you have noticed the growing desire and compulsive need being expressed – people want to have personal conversations with total strangers.

Privacy and anonymity seem to be a passing fad, a priority of the past. Guards are down as people share their most private experiences, thoughts, and relationships to a global market. The need to talk, question, and comment, may sometimes borderline obsessive behavior, but is actually a blessing in disguise for those email marketers who integrate their marketing campaigns with social media marketing.

As we engage our clients in blogs, twitter, and facebook, we want to have a discourse in meaningful and influential dialogues, furthering the discussions on a positive and informative note. Our strategies are to develop trust and respect for our company, product, or service. Without which there is no loyalty or repeat business. But what happens when a negative comment is made on a blog or email communication? Does it spiral out of control? The need to learn how to respond in an open, unmediated arena will reduce that fear. Learning to adapt to the continuing dynamics and constant challenges of the social Web is a daily experience. Our attitude towards any criticism, however, should be to learn and grow from every experience.

Is the Comment True?

Whether a negative comment comes from a colleague, friend, relative or customer online we must ask ourselves is it true? Don’t go into combat mode, as if you are being assaulted. For some of you, honesty has always been an uncomfortable and unpleasant experience when dealing with negative remarks. The world is filled with dishonesty. Salespeople lie about their products, employees make excuses for their mistakes, and customer service people lie about when the product was shipped, and on and on. It seems that telling a lie is easier than admitting a fault or product defect. So we practice this thinking when dealing with our clients online. But, that is not the way to go.

Having smart conversations with people who have something important to say, is being wise. Productive criticisms about your product, service, website, or support, can only lead to improvement on your end and trust on theirs. Being honest is being vulnerable. But how can we develop loyalty and trust, if we cannot institute that in our own actions and lives?

Remain honest and straightforward. Most of your clients have been around the block. They know when they are not receiving honest, straightforward responses. Don’t try to impress, but address their issues honestly and respectably.

Be a proactive communicator. Keep your communications alive. Many email marketers send communications when a new project or client has come on board. Make sure you are both on the same page. Never assume. Question what is not clear, or what you might have missed. Strive for excellence. Email your client on a periodic basis. Let them know they are very much alive in your thinking and planning. Even if it seems redundant, keep the good vibrations going out to them.

Communications are a lifeline to business and client alike. Honest communications today, build loyalty and trust offering a better bottom line tomorrow.

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Using Cloud Based Communication – A Business Perspective

May 5th, 2011 by admin No comments »


Using Cloud Based Communication – A Business Perspective

Cloud-based communications, also known as Communications as a Service (CaaS), is a hosted solution provided & managed as a service vs. the traditional premise-based systems. This concept has been around nearly forty years, since the inception of Centrex. Many industry experts, whom remember Centrex, understand the issues associated with it. Some of those included cost, limited deployment models, no applications, and basically did not meet the markets need. With the inception of new technology such as IP-based solutions, CaaS is becoming a more viable option.

With a full list of features and applications available, businesses are looking at CaaS to run their day to day operations instead of a premised-based solution. CaaS can reduce or eliminate capital expenditures, which in this economy is a welcome piece of news. With no system to support, your IT investment will be lowered since no education or labor costs would be needed for the communications system. In addition, CaaS is a good way to ‘try and buy’. If you are thinking about a premise-based system, you can start with a specific department on CaaS and deploy a premised-based system down the road.

The CaaS model features a long list of solutions that include IP-based systems; robust applications which can be turned off or on quickly; flexible deployment; remote administration & supervisory tools; and remote agent/employee capabilities. Another critical feature in a CaaS solution is the ability to scale your needs up or down depending on your business needs. For example, if you own a catalog company, you may need to scale up during certain holiday seasons. When the season is over, you can easily scale back down again.

For businesses requiring remote agent/employee capability and a disaster recovery plan, CaaS is ideal. The contact center is leading the way in the remote workplace. With the ability to have agents all over the world, using a secure internet connection, companies are able to keep productivity high which helps their bottom line. Gartner is forecasting remote agents will grow by 25% between 2008 and 2013. A disaster recovery plan, a.k.a. business continuity, is becoming an essential part of your operating procedures. Natural disasters are more expensive to recover from and human intervention such as worms and viruses are more prevalent with each passing week. With a disaster recovery plan, where the server is hosted off-site (such as with a CaaS solution), your business is protected from unforeseen circumstances. Also the ability to have remote agents insures that in the event of an unplanned emergency, your agents can still function just as if they were at the office.

Are you ready for a CaaS solution? There are several considerations to think about: * Is your network VoIP ready? A good provider will complete a network assessment to help you determine this. * Do you need to extend capabilities of your current infrastructure? * Does your business have compliance standards that must be adhered to? Are the issues with call recording, records retention, customer privacy, etc.? * Is your current environment spread out? Do you currently have branch offices or remote workers? * Do you plan to or have interest in moving to a premise-based solution in the future?

Once you have decided you are ready for a new communications system and determined CaaS is the way to go, the next step is choosing the right provider. There are typically four options, each with their own considerations to think about. The first option may be a traditional telephone carrier who provides your telephone lines. You may want to consider their experience in supporting telephone systems and especially complex applications. Second are the traditional hosting companies, also known as application service providers (ASP). ASP’s usually do not own the software, so there can be a lack of control. Third is the start-up CaaS/SaaS provider. As a start-up, you would want to look into their financial resources, track record, or experience which may bring an element of risk. Finally, there is the communications software company. CaaS organizations have control over the applications since they developed the software and have a great deal of experience and best practices to draw from.

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Is Cloud-Based Communications Right For Your Business?

May 4th, 2011 by admin No comments »


Is Cloud-Based Communications Right For Your Business?

Cloud-based communications, also known as Communications as a Service (CaaS), is a hosted solution provided & managed as a service vs. the traditional premise-based systems. This concept has been around nearly forty years, since the inception of Centrex. Many industry experts, whom remember Centrex, understand the issues associated with it. Some of those included cost, limited deployment models, no applications, and basically did not meet the markets need. With the inception of new technology such as IP-based solutions, CaaS is becoming a more viable option.

With a full list of features and applications available, businesses are looking at CaaS to run their day to day operations instead of a premised-based solution. CaaS can reduce or eliminate capital expenditures, which in this economy is a welcome piece of news. With no system to support, your IT investment will be lowered since no education or labor costs would be needed for the communications system. In addition, CaaS is a good way to ‘try and buy’. If you are thinking about a premise-based system, you can start with a specific department on CaaS and deploy a premised-based system down the road.

The CaaS model features a long list of solutions that include IP-based systems; robust applications which can be turned off or on quickly; flexible deployment; remote administration & supervisory tools; and remote agent/employee capabilities. Another critical feature in a CaaS solution is the ability to scale your needs up or down depending on your business needs. For example, if you own a catalog company, you may need to scale up during certain holiday seasons. When the season is over, you can easily scale back down again.

For businesses requiring remote agent/employee capability and a disaster recovery plan, CaaS is ideal. The contact center is leading the way in the remote workplace. With the ability to have agents all over the world, using a secure internet connection, companies are able to keep productivity high which helps their bottom line. Gartner is forecasting remote agents will grow by 25% between 2008 and 2013. A disaster recovery plan, a.k.a. business continuity, is becoming an essential part of your operating procedures. Natural disasters are more expensive to recover from and human intervention such as worms and viruses are more prevalent with each passing week. With a disaster recovery plan, where the server is hosted off-site (such as with a CaaS solution), your business is protected from unforeseen circumstances. Also the ability to have remote agents insures that in the event of an unplanned emergency, your agents can still function just as if they were at the office.

Are you ready for a CaaS solution? There are several considerations to think about: * Is your network VoIP ready? A good provider will complete a network assessment to help you determine this. * Do you need to extend capabilities of your current infrastructure? * Does your business have compliance standards that must be adhered to? Are the issues with call recording, records retention, customer privacy, etc.? * Is your current environment spread out? Do you currently have branch offices or remote workers? * Do you plan to or have interest in moving to a premise-based solution in the future?

Once you have decided you are ready for a new communications system and determined CaaS is the way to go, the next step is choosing the right provider. There are typically four options, each with their own considerations to think about. The first option may be a traditional telephone carrier who provides your telephone lines. You may want to consider their experience in supporting telephone systems and especially complex applications. Second are the traditional hosting companies, also known as application service providers (ASP). ASP’s usually do not own the software, so there can be a lack of control. Third is the start-up CaaS/SaaS provider. As a start-up, you would want to look into their financial resources, track record, or experience which may bring an element of risk. Finally, there is the communications software company. CaaS organizations have control over the applications since they developed the software and have a great deal of experience and best practices to draw from.

In choosing any hosting company, you want to make sure they are running the latest technology; provide redundancy for the hardware and carrier; allow you to make the necessary changes for your business; and do not host multiple companies on the same server.

In making a large technology decision, it is best to research, research, research. CaaS is a Deliberately Different solution for any type of business – enterprise or contact center.

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Using Cloud Based Communication – A Business Perspective

May 4th, 2011 by admin No comments »


Using Cloud Based Communication – A Business Perspective

Cloud-based communications, also known as Communications as a Service (CaaS), is a hosted solution provided & managed as a service vs. the traditional premise-based systems. This concept has been around nearly forty years, since the inception of Centrex. Many industry experts, whom remember Centrex, understand the issues associated with it. Some of those included cost, limited deployment models, no applications, and basically did not meet the markets need. With the inception of new technology such as IP-based solutions, CaaS is becoming a more viable option.

With a full list of features and applications available, businesses are looking at CaaS to run their day to day operations instead of a premised-based solution. CaaS can reduce or eliminate capital expenditures, which in this economy is a welcome piece of news. With no system to support, your IT investment will be lowered since no education or labor costs would be needed for the communications system. In addition, CaaS is a good way to ‘try and buy’. If you are thinking about a premise-based system, you can start with a specific department on CaaS and deploy a premised-based system down the road.

The CaaS model features a long list of solutions that include IP-based systems; robust applications which can be turned off or on quickly; flexible deployment; remote administration & supervisory tools; and remote agent/employee capabilities. Another critical feature in a CaaS solution is the ability to scale your needs up or down depending on your business needs. For example, if you own a catalog company, you may need to scale up during certain holiday seasons. When the season is over, you can easily scale back down again.

For businesses requiring remote agent/employee capability and a disaster recovery plan, CaaS is ideal. The contact center is leading the way in the remote workplace. With the ability to have agents all over the world, using a secure internet connection, companies are able to keep productivity high which helps their bottom line. Gartner is forecasting remote agents will grow by 25% between 2008 and 2013. A disaster recovery plan, a.k.a. business continuity, is becoming an essential part of your operating procedures. Natural disasters are more expensive to recover from and human intervention such as worms and viruses are more prevalent with each passing week. With a disaster recovery plan, where the server is hosted off-site (such as with a CaaS solution), your business is protected from unforeseen circumstances. Also the ability to have remote agents insures that in the event of an unplanned emergency, your agents can still function just as if they were at the office.

Are you ready for a CaaS solution? There are several considerations to think about: * Is your network VoIP ready? A good provider will complete a network assessment to help you determine this. * Do you need to extend capabilities of your current infrastructure? * Does your business have compliance standards that must be adhered to? Are the issues with call recording, records retention, customer privacy, etc.? * Is your current environment spread out? Do you currently have branch offices or remote workers? * Do you plan to or have interest in moving to a premise-based solution in the future?

Once you have decided you are ready for a new communications system and determined CaaS is the way to go, the next step is choosing the right provider. There are typically four options, each with their own considerations to think about. The first option may be a traditional telephone carrier who provides your telephone lines. You may want to consider their experience in supporting telephone systems and especially complex applications. Second are the traditional hosting companies, also known as application service providers (ASP). ASP’s usually do not own the software, so there can be a lack of control. Third is the start-up CaaS/SaaS provider. As a start-up, you would want to look into their financial resources, track record, or experience which may bring an element of risk. Finally, there is the communications software company. CaaS organizations have control over the applications since they developed the software and have a great deal of experience and best practices to draw from.

In choosing any hosting company, you want to make sure they are running the latest technology; provide redundancy for the hardware and carrier; allow you to make the necessary changes for your business; and do not host multiple companies on the same server.

In making a large technology decision, it is best to research, research, research. CaaS is a Deliberately Different solution for any type of business – enterprise or contact center.

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Using Autoreponders to Power Up Your Business

May 4th, 2011 by admin No comments »


Using Autoreponders to Power Up Your Business

An email autoresponder should come as natural to every business. Web surfers stopped looking at ordinary websites years ago. Now every internet visitor wants a website that is caring and will build a positive relationship with its visitors. It is for this reason that online companies are investing huge millions into Customer Relationship Management programs. But if you are a start up businesses without the huge capital outlay to put into customer relations, you can use auto responders to deliver an amazing warm reception and interaction with their visitors.

The best way to automate your complete process of social bookmarking is available at bookmarking demon. Also – automated social bookmarking is the best way to take your search engine ranking to the highest level in no time at all.

To conduct a successful online business, you may want to be guided by available research on customers. Research has long established that, positive and timely responses are important ingredients that visitors use to judge how friendly websites are and how they would want to interact with them. And you may want to know that visitors are more likely to establish relationships with sites that provide excellent feedback and timely responses.

Auto responders therefore positively answer the call of website owners seeking automated interaction with customers at all facets of their customer relations.

An email autoresponder can securely perform 5 principal business boosting roles for every website which needs to get a high rating in customer relations and therefore enhance customer loyalty.

Acknowledgement: Autoresponders can let people know you have received their emails and that you will soon respond to their enquiry. Even when you are not available to reply immediately, you will do so at some later time. You see, buyers are predominantly in a state of anxiety and it is a good marketing strategy to allay such anxieties.

People buy with several reasons; one of their being an urgent need to do something. So acknowledging their emails sets their minds at ease and then they are confident that a reply will be forth coming on their enquiry. If you have one thousand emails a day, there is no way you can efficiently reply to all these manually and that is where an auto responder comes in.

Notices: Assuming you were out of the office for two days and a customer interested in bringing you a hundred thousand Dollar deal writes to you with the hope of receiving a response so business is transacted. It will be quite discouraging for him to wait and wait for no answer to come forth. If you have an email autoresponder installed, some preliminary email marketing messages can be sent to the sender; at least informing him of products/services available or explain your absence and when you will be back. If the sender wishes to wait, you can come back to respond appropriately and get the deal finalized.

Confirmation: In this age of scam and fraud on the net, every buyer will want a confirmation of his purchase. An autoresponder confirmation serves two purposes – it assures the buyer that the goods will be forthcoming and it relieves him of the thoughts that he had transacted with a fraudster. An auto responder performing this function will make your customers happy and buy from you always.

Appreciation: Buyers do businesses a great favor by buying. Although you are giving away a product or service in return, customers need to be appreciated for buying from you. At least they had other several options but they chose to buy from you because they like you or how you conducted your business. You can use an email auto responder to send follow up messages to customers thanking them for their business and assuring them of continued support.

Every business must make it a point to rely on an email auto responder to generate customer satisfaction and loyalty. Modern online businesses cannot afford to lose this part of everyday web-based transactions. There are many auto responders on the market available for free or a fee but the most versatile that can effectively perform the vital duties mentioned above can be found at http://www.aceresponse.com/

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All You Need To Know About HD Voice And Wideband Calling

May 4th, 2011 by admin No comments »


All You Need To Know About HD Voice And Wideband Calling

A legacy POTS network delivers audio using the 300-3400 Hz frequency range. With VoIP, the concept of G.711 codec got introduced and it offered a bandwidth of 64 kbps. While that’s a significant improvement over the audio quality offered by POTS, there’s still massive scope for improvement.

It’s very challenging to recognize fricative sounds like ‘s’ and ‘f’ in POTS as well as VoIP networks as they need higher frequencies. Similarly, it is nearly impossible to clearly identify the fundamental resonance of spoken vowels in POTS and VoIP networks as it requires extremely low frequencies. Therefore, there’s a strong need for a voice technology which supports a large range of frequencies.

What is HD Voice?

High Definition Voice is a wideband technology that delivers audio in the range of 30-7000 Hz and sounds more ‘natural’ as compared to POTS or G.711 voice. The explanation for this better audio quality is that wideband audio makes use of lower and upper frequency limits to produce more accurate audio signals.

Polycom, a leading voice communications provider has played an instrumental role in spreading the word on this technology. Hi-def audio uses the G.722 codec that samples audio data at a rate of 16 KHz. AMR-WB (G.722.2) is also gaining in popularity and it provides HD voice at 24 Kbps. However, unlike G.722, it’s a patented technology and is resource-crunching, thereby leading to a shorter device battery life.

Ultimately, this technology is a win-win situation for providers as well as users. The audio experience is high quality and since it appears more interactive, the overall call experience will be improved. This will lead to the gradual conversion to HD capable end user agents, and providers which support the technology.

What’s so special about HD Voice?

Wideband audio has massive potential and it’s capable of completely transforming the user experience for conference calls, while also offering superior IVR functionality and more accurate text-to-speech solutions.

It provides a far superior natural sound and leads to increased participation in a conversation. Many vendors talk about bringing VoIP to a level where it can offer the same audio quality as that of a face-to-face conversation. Hi-definition audio is an important step in achieving this goal.

What’s required?

HD Voice relies on the wide range of frequencies to enhance the audio experience. Therefore, it’s important to have a good quality IP network with high bandwidth and low latency. As far as the underlying network is concerned, wideband audio should work on any high speed network such as HSPA, WiMax or LTE.

Further, the user devices need to be HD-capable. A high quality microphone which can record audio at 7 KHz is recommended.

HD Capable Hosted VoIP

Many leading Hosted VoIP providers offer wideband calling capabilities in their PBX solutions. HD Voice is a boon from a business perspective. It takes the customer calling experience to an altogether new level and helps in enhancing customer satisfaction. For long office conference calls, wideband audio is invaluable as it makes the experience less frustrating.

Pitfalls

HD Voice is still at a nascent stage and it does have some pitfalls. As it supports a wider range of frequencies, callers hear everything – a tap on the table, a click on the keyboard or even the crunching noise of potato chips from the neighboring cubicle. After all, the wider the frequency range, the more clearly it captures the surrounding sounds.

Wrap-Up

There’s no doubt that HD Voice is a true game changer for improving VoIP audio quality. The message is loud and clear (like the technology itself) – HD Voice is here to stay!

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Consistently Win Sales With Customer Loyalty

May 3rd, 2011 by admin No comments »


Consistently Win Sales With Customer Loyalty

Customer Service — Customer Loyalty Wins Sales

By Gary Wollin

Batteries not included. Three of the dumbest words.

Your Company spent millions of dollars to develop this wonderful product. Engineers spent countless hours creating and refining it. You spent additional millions of dollars in advertising to get me to buy it.

I bought it. I took it home and now it won’t work because YOU neglected to include the only part that WILL make it work. For a couple of extra bucks, your cost and mine, I’m frustrated and angry with you and your Company.

It’s the same with customer service.

No matter what you sell; whether it’s goods or services, big ticket or small, sales and customer service are not two separate pieces. Every sale must come with the customer service built in.

Exceptional customer service is NOT an extra cost of doing business. It is an investment in your own future success.

In the early 1950s, my uncle had a very small clothing store in Miami, Florida. In those days, Miami was a major entertainment center, with the biggest names in show business appearing at the major hotels, very similar to Las Vegas today.

One evening, as he was leaving the stage at the end of the early show, a young singer ripped his tuxedo jacket on a nail sticking out of the wall. It was after 8 P.M., all the clothing stores were closed.

The hotel management called the major stores and owners because the singer didn’t want to go on stage with a torn jacket or worse, no jacket.

None of the fancy clothing shop owners would leave their homes to accommodate the young man. Finally, in desperation, my uncle got the call. Would he come downtown with a couple of tuxedos?

Within an hour my uncle was at the hotel with 4 tuxedos. He did the fitting and tailoring right on the spot.

The young singer and the big hotel management were ecstatic. The singer tried to shove a few extra hundred dollar bills into my uncle’s hand, but he wouldn’t take the money, explaining that he was honored to have the opportunity to earn the business.

The singer promised that he would never forget my uncle’s kindness and would tell his show biz friends about my uncle. True to his word, the singer continued to tell his friends about my uncle, even as his singing career skyrocketed.

The young singer – Frank Sinatra.

My uncle – went from a tiny clothing store on the edges of oblivion to “Mickey Hayes – Clothier to the Stars”; his walls covered with hundreds of photographs of the biggest names in show business.

On the other side of the coin is INTEL, the major manufacturer of computer chips, and, a great company.

Some years ago, Intel’s newest chip had a design flaw that caused a problem in only the tiniest number of calculations, and only in highly complex situations. As this problem began to get reported in the press, owners of computers built with these new chips wanted replacements.

Intel’s management stated that these customers were somewhat stupid since only highly complex calculations in specialized situations would experience that problem and then, only on the rarest occasions. They said that they would replace the chip if the customer could substantiate the claim that their chip was flawed.

How stupid. If it only goes bad once in a zillion times, why not give a lifetime guarantee? Most of the customers would never run into that problem. If they had immediately offered the lifetime replacement guarantee, ALL of the customers would have had a very high degree of confidence that they would never need to take Intel up on their offer.

Intel finally did offer lifetime replacement – after worrying, offending and insulting millions of their customers.

We can all learn a valuable lesson from Nordstroms; the department store famous for customer service. Their service to customers is so incredible, that people go out of their way to shop there.

Mr. Nordstrom calls it ‘customer heroics’. “We do it because we want more business – NOT simply because we’re nice guys.”

I’ve always told my employees – “don’t save me ‘MY’ money. If it helps the customer, SPEND my money. Even if they make a mistake, they won’t be criticized if it helped the customer”.

Nordstrom, over a period of many years, has developed a corporate culture of service to the customer. Any corporate culture, if it is going to endure successfully, MUST take on a life of its own, apart from the wishes of management. It has to be adopted by every employee, because THEY each think that it’s a good idea.

Whether you are a 1 person operation or the largest company, you know what good customer service is. It’s the Golden Rule applied to business – “Do unto others”.

Listen to your customers’ spoken requests – and unspoken. They’ll tell you what they want. Add a large portion of your own good common sense. Make a commitment to yourself that you will give your customers, service beyond their highest expectations

If you will do these few simple things, I can guarantee you success beyond YOUR expectations.

About the Author: Gary Wollin is a Warren Buffet style investment advisor with 45+ years of Wall Street experience. He writes and speaks on sales, customer loyalty, and the stock market. He can be reached at: http://www.garywollin.com

Source: www.isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=149432&ca=Business

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How’s Your Customer Service When They Become Irate?

May 3rd, 2011 by admin No comments »


How’s Your Customer Service When They Become Irate?

Customer service is always a magical strategy to retain the customer happily. Customers are the king of any business. If you do not have any customer, you will not be able to run any business. They are the foundation for your business. Without them you will not be able to survive among your competitors. They encourage you if you bring a brand new and innovative products or services to the business world. You will be crowned by your customer if you provide good customer support and high quality of products or services among your competitors. Hence, customer support is the main ingredient that brings more interest on your product or service and this will help you to retain your clients. These are all the basic ideas about customer service. But even if you show at most care on few of your customer, they will not get satisfied. They will be always striving to find faults in your assistance. In such cases, you may also feel depressed of making them to understand the real situation. But still, you cannot leave them as such since each client is valuable for a business no matter if he or she gets irate for every single thing. In this article, we are going to see two things that help you to resolve the irate customer issues.

1. Leave a positive impression :

If a client is facing any problem, it is obvious that he comes and shouts at you in a louder voice. But it is your duty to listen to them properly with lot of patience. It is advisable to not to argue with him even if it is in a good sense. Be patient and listen to them completely. Now you may be able to understand the issue. If the customer is wrong, do not tell that straight forward and send him away. You have to wait until he gets calm and slowly make him to understand the real thing with appropriate proofs. If the customer is correct, you have to ask apologies and you should fix the issues as soon as possible. First of all, agree your mistake and repent for the same. This could make them to calm down soon. Then provide him the assurance to correct the errors. Also provide him free coupons for the next visit to your shop. Make sure that he agrees and fine with your responses. Leave a positive tone. Then act quickly to resolve the problem sequentially as follows:

a. Take prompt action b. Analyze the complaint c. Asking apology d. Fix the issue e. Reward the customer with any free coupons so that they will not look for another option instead of you. This would really neutralizes the anger of your client and make them satisfied.

2. Be proactive :

Always one step ahead of the expectation of your customers. If you happen to find any issues on the order before it reaches the client, be pro active and try to stop them. If you cannot stop the order, talk to the customer and explain him where it went wrong and provide the surety of getting it fixed. Complete the tasks within the said time.

Exceeding the customer’s expectation is not only depends on resolving the problem quickly but also from your word of mouth. This would increase the loyalty among your customer. Your company will have a brand name.

Customer Service

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Are You Focusing On What The Customer Wants Or What You Want?

May 3rd, 2011 by admin No comments »


Are You Focusing On What The Customer Wants Or What You Want?

Amazing Customer Service Means Focusing on What Your Customer Wants, Not What You Want

By Kevin Stirtz

Too often I hear people give bad advice to others about how to talk with new potential clients. Rather than focus on what the customer is trying to accomplish now, they try to get their foot in the door for a long-term relationship with the company.

It’s like talking about marriage, kids and and the white picket fence before the other person has even committed to a first date.

I know why they do this. Part of it starts with good intentions. As a professional, you want to make sure your new (potential) client has the right information so they can make the best decision about how to accomplish what they want. That’s our job. Customers know what they want. We help them figure out the best way to get it done. So, we need to ask questions and, sometimes, suggest alternatives in the interest of helping them get what they really want.

And this is good. This is as it should be. But then too many people take a wrong turn. They start putting themselves first.

For example, consultants will go into a first interview for a specific short-term project and they talk about being the client’s long term advisor or partner. Something the client has shown absolutely no interest in.

Or, speakers and trainers will meet with potential clients about a single event the client wants done and they talk about multiple workshops, ongoing coaching and strategic consulting to help them accomplish their long term objectives. All they wanted was a 1/2 day training session!

It’s good to help our clients explore possible solutions to help them accomplish their goals. That’s our job. It’s not our job to take them in a different direction because it benefits us. We can justify it by saying “it’s in the customer’s best interest” or “I’m just covering all the bases”. But I don’t buy those excuses.

And the test is simple. If you find yourself always (or almost always) pointing your clients toward the same thing (something that benefits you and is different than what they came to you for) then you’re selling. You’re not helping. And you’re focusing on what you want, not what they want.

So stop doing it.

You might argue that you have to sell your products or services or you’ll be out of business. You argue that need justifies offering those products or service to everyone you speak with.

But that’s wrong. And it will not help you grow your business.

If a client (or potential client) wants something that your product or service does not fit, don’t offer it. Help them find a company that does fit what they need. That’s helping, not selling. And it’s the best way to build a loyal customer base. It’s also the only way to deliver Amazing Service.

The first rule of Amazing Service is to deliver what your customers want, plus a little more. It does NOT say deliver what you want and hope it helps your customer get what they want.

Some people will read this and say “What’s wrong with trying to establish a long-term relationship with a client?” Or “What’s wrong with trying to look beyond their current need and help them with potential future needs?”

There’s nothing wrong looking toward the future. In fact, many clients will appreciate it. But the issue is how and when you do it. Your first obligation is to help them with their current need. Until you’ve done that, you don’t have the right (or, quite likely, the credibility) to talk about the future. Let your client get to know you first. Let your relationship build and develop. Show them how good you are by helping them accomplish what they want now. Demonstrate your ability and willingness to be partner with them.

You need to show them you can be a valuable partner, not tell them. Showing is helping. Telling is selling.

The first step in building a valuable long-term client relationship is helping them. Help your client get what they want and do it so well they’ll be happy to continue doing business with you in the future. Then stay in touch in a professional and helpful way and you’ll have a much better chance of becoming a trusted and valued partner for them.

About the Author: Kevin Stirtz is the Amazing Service Guy. He is a customer service speaker and trainer who helps companies increase revenue and profits by delivering Amazing Service. Kevin has spoken to thousands of people across the USA and in Europe about how to improve customer service. Get a free copy of Kevin’s Amazing Service Toolkit at: http://amazingserviceguy.com

Source: www.isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=283072&ca=Business+Management

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The Worst Customer Service You Got?

May 3rd, 2011 by admin No comments »


The Worst Customer Service You Got?

Bad Customer Service Is Not So Funny: Five Secrets To Giving Outstanding Customer Service

The following story tells how a customer experience went from funny to sad in less than 24 hours, and five secrets to creating an outstanding customer experience.

Recently, Joy and I were invited to go to a local comedy club. It was one of those clubs where you eat dinner while listening to the comedians.

We had a very enjoyable evening with our hosts. The comedians were funny and the meals were delicious. The server gave us our check for the meals and, after perusing the bill, gave the waiter our credit card for payment. I noticed that the waiter went to all the tables he served at the same time and collected all the receipts and credit cards, cash, and payments at the same time. We were a little concerned that the payments would be applied to the wrong receipts. However, we assumed the best and assumed the server had an organized system for applying the payments to the right receipts.

We were wrong!

We checked our online account balance and saw that there was an incorrect charge of $75 in addition to the normal charge. Not only that, the overcharge resulted in this account being over the limit which resulted in an additional overlimit fee of $39. Suddenly, it was not so funny.

The following are five secrets to resolving a customer service situation and creating a great customer service experience:

1. Walk the Talk – Joy telephoned the comedy club at 10:12 a.m. of the morning she found out about the overcharge. She was greeted by a voiced mail message that said, “No one is available to take your call after business hours. Please call back between the hours of 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. or leave a message.” That’s what she thought she did.

If you promise to answer the phone between certain hours, then answer the phone between those hours. If you promise the customer a solution, additional information, etc., then make sure you deliver. Walk the talk and don’t offer anything less.

2. Listen with Empathy – When Joy called back after leaving a message on the voicemail and not getting a response, she finally got someone on the phone. Joy explained the above overcharge situation and the customer service “expert” said, “Are you sure the charge is incorrect?” Wrong answer. This person had already judged/assumed the customer to be incorrect or incompetent. Along with this judgment, as Joy explained our situation, there was no response from the customer service person during the conversation. Empathy means putting yourself in the customer’s shoes and feeling the customer’s pain, gaining an understanding of the situation, and communicating that you understand. Some of the things that this customer service person could have said to show empathy are the following:

* I appreciate your sharing this information…
* I can understand how you could feel that way…
* I can see how that would be an inconvenience…
* Please tell me more…

3. Take Ownership and Apologize – When Joy mentioned the $75 overcharge, the customer service person said that it was our bank’s fault although it was clear that the comedy club initiated the charge. Take responsibility for creating a solution for the customer. Show ownership by saying the following:

* We will investigate this for you immediately.
* I will create a solution.
* Let’s make this charge go away.
* Let me have you talk with someone who has the answer for you. It will take (whatever amount of time). Can you wait?
* We will make this happen for you.
* I will personally take care of this for you.

In our situation, the customer service person could have said, “Ms. Fisher-Sykes, I apologize for this overcharge and any inconvenience it caused you. That is never our intention. Again, my name is (name of rep). I will personally investigate this for you immediately and correct this situation.”

Taking ownership shows the customer that someone is in charge, that someone cares, and that someone can move to the end result that really counts…creating a solution for the customer.

4. Create the Solution – All your actions and communications with the customer must move to creating a solution. Joy asked the customer service person when the charge would be removed and the rep said, “I don’t know; I guess soon.” Does this answer move us closer to the final answer or solution? NO. It leaves the customer unsure about the solution and creates more anxiety and questions in the customer’s mind.

Correct Way: All the rep needed to say was, “Thank you for asking. We will immediately initiate the removal of your charge today. The charge, along with any overdraft charges, will be removed from your bank within the next 48 hours.”

Move towards creating a solution, create the solution, let the customer know what the solution is, get the customer’s approval and commitment on the solution, and act on the solution.

5. Offer an Incentive to Come Back – Remember, treat your customer every time as though it is the first time to impress that customer. You may only have one opportunity to impress that customer. To say the least, we were not impressed with our comedy club experience. Joy even mentioned in the beginning of the conversation that it was our first time at the club. There was no reaction from the customer service rep.

Correct Way: “Ms. Fisher-Sykes, I am saddened to hear about this situation, especially since it is your first time at our establishment. We like to make each customer’s experience at our club a positive memorable one so that you want to come back again and again and tell others about our club. We want you to come back to our club. Here are two complimentary passes to our club so that you can come back at your earliest convenience.”

If you can’t give the customer a monetary incentive, give the customer a perceived incentive. It could be a special call with advanced information on your establishment’s promotions or, in our case, it could be seating at the front table of the club to make us feel special.

Apply these five customer service secrets, and your customers will laugh all the way back to your business, organization, and government agency.

About the Author: Ed Sykes is an author, professional speaker, and success coach in the areas of leadership, motivation, stress management, customer service, and team building. You can e-mail him at mailto:esykes@thesykesgrp.com, or call him at (757) 427-7032. Go to his web site, http://www.thesykesgrp.com, and signup for the newsletter, OnPoint.

Source: www.isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=72242&ca=Business+Management

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